Lucy
This was Lucy's status window. Astonishingly, all her base stats were double Han Ji-woo's. The tiny creature, no bigger than his fist, hid tremendous power within that small body.
But what surprised Han Ji-woo wasn't that. It was the unique skills! These weren't skills granted by the dungeon—they were innate racial traits.
The Purr Song was clearly an incredibly useful skill. But the one that hit home for him right now was Fish Catching.
His gaze immediately shifted to the lake. How badly had he wanted to devour those masou salmon swimming freely in there?
"Lucy!"
Nyaa?
"You've got a job to do!"
Nyaa!
As Han Ji-woo dashed to the lake, Lucy scampered after him.
"Look, see those masou salmon swimming around all 'catch me if you can~'?"
Lucy craned her neck to peer into the lake. A few masou salmon floated leisurely inside. The moment she spotted them, her eyes sharpened like daggers.
"Think you can catch those guys?"
Nyaao~!
With an enthusiastic cry, Lucy plunged into the lake.
Splash!
"Whoa?"
Han Ji-woo hadn't expected a full-on dive. He stuttered in shock.
"A w-water-attribute cat?!"
This was bigger than winning the lottery.
Lucy zipped through the water like a missile toward a masou salmon. She swung her tiny paw with all her might.
Whoosh—
Splat.
A masou salmon leaped from the lake and flopped onto the ground. Han Ji-woo scooped up the thrashing fish.
"Whoa~ what a fatty!"
He tossed it far away to keep it from slipping back into the water.
Three more followed, shooting out of the lake. Lucy finally climbed out, shaking off vigorously.
"Aigoo, my baby!"
Han Ji-woo scooped her up for a barrage of kisses.
* * *
"Now what to do with these."
Han Ji-woo pondered the two limp masou salmon on the ground. Lucy had caught four in total today. He'd stored two in his inventory.
The initial inventory description had been like this.
Inventory
An inventory that can store items infinitely.
Items stored in the inventory are frozen in time.
As stated, time stopped for stored items. Live masou salmon would stay fresh inside.
For now, he handed one to Lucy.
"Eat up, Lucy."
Nyaa~
Lucy happily devoured it.
But Han Ji-woo was human—he couldn't just eat it raw like her.
"Alright, let's give it a shot."
Resolved, he fetched a flat, broad rock as a cutting board and his stone knife, sitting by the lakeside.
He placed the live masou salmon on the rock and took a deep breath.
"Hoo."
In one go, the stone knife severed the head and fins, slit the belly. He gutted it cleanly, rinsed the blood in the lake, then deeply scored the back and filleted the flesh along the bones.
Crunch. Scrape.
The sound of knife on bone meant minimal waste. He wiped sweat from his brow after getting two fillets.
"Phew. Made it this far."
He'd cooked fish plenty but never sashimi. Relying on YouTube memories, it wasn't bad for a first try.
The thick, pinkish flesh tempted him. But the toughest part remained: skinning.
"Slow and steady. Slow and steady."
Gripping the tail, he wedged the knife between skin and flesh, pushing gently. It wasn't perfect, but he got skinless fillets. He repeated for the other side, slicing into bite-sized pieces. Dreamy sashimi complete!
Rinsed and plated on clean dungeon weeds, it looked decent.
"Hm. Does Creation not apply to cooking?"
As if hearing him, a system message appeared.
As an achievement reward, you have acquired the 'Cooking' stat.
"Oh."
His status window now showed Cooking stat activated at 15. It quantified his decent skills.
Cooking stat exceeds 10, adding positive effects to cooking.
Completion quality of created dishes slightly increases.
The dungeon system refined the uneven sashimi into neat pieces. Presentation mattered for appetite, and this boosted it.
"So every dish gets a little upgrade from now on?"
Music to his ears. He finally picked up a piece. No soy sauce, wasabi, or even salt—but sashimi was possible now.
"Here goes."
Fresh masou salmon sashimi crunched sweetly, chewy and flavorful. Emotion welled up; he nearly teared up.
Aaah, it's dancing. The masou salmon is dancing in my mouth!
He swallowed, groaning in ecstasy.
"Kuhhh!"
Indescribable bliss. Sashimi in this impossible place!
"Lucy, this is all thanks to you."
He patted her butt and ate more. In this moment, he forgot his dire straits, pure happiness.
* * *
Dungeon Floor 2.
The 63 heroes, searching for the Floor 3 entrance, paused at the sudden lake and apple tree.
Apples and water were a win. Then they spotted fish. Skills aided fishing; soon piles formed.
Others lit fires with branches. Skewers roasted over flames, savory scents filling the dungeon.
Not enough for one each, but thirds worked. Before they knew, 63 sat around campfires, sharing grilled fish.
"Whoa, this is luxury."
"Right? Grilled fish here."
"Never imagined."
"Me neither."
Warm fires and food brought rare peace since arrival. Talk followed.
Thirty-six dead already, including the twins. Live horrors had shut emotions down. But chatter reopened hearts.
Groups beat isolation for calm. Fish sparked bonds, turning individuals into a unit.
Mitchell, their leader, seized the mood.
"Everyone. This is it. United like now, we'll clear faster and safer than solo."
Dreamy, given no returns from missing cases. But no buzzkills here—hope fueled progress.
"Survive and get home!"
"Yeah!"
"Let's do it!"
Roars united them. Seol Ara shouted too.
I'll survive. No doubt.
She'd died once five years ago, saved by her benefactor.
I swore not to waste the life Ji-woo gave me. I'll survive.
She vowed repeatedly.
* * *
Sniff sniff.
Ferrofero woke to savory scents tickling his nose.
"What is this smell?"
His crystal orb showed dungeon sights—and smells. Essential monitoring.
Fish grilling? He bolted up.
"Fish? Grilled fish?!"
Heroes were eating it!
"Eek!"
Drool poured as he stared. When had he last eaten fish? Meals came via orb: nutrition bars. Tasteless but filling.
Same as heroes' quest boxes. He'd forsaken flavor.
Now? Eyes spun.
"I can't take it!"
He wiped drool and whooshed into the orb.
* * *
"What the hell is this damn cat?!"
"We won't die easy!"
"Get lost, monster!"
"Rip you to shreds! You rotter!"
"Catch alopecia."
"......Everyone, please calm down. And alopecia is too harsh!"
Ferrofero faced a barrage. They should've feared him; now they dared him.
Mitchell stepped in as tempers flared.
"Why are you here?"
Ferrofero pointed at his fish head.
"That fish dish. Any leftovers?"
Drooling disgusted Mitchell. But Seol Ara watching thought differently.
This kitty... maybe tamable?